


In Our Bones

by noseandfeetarerunning



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Drinking, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Josh and Tyler have a platonic relationship, Josh-centric, Pining, Slow Burn, but barely mentioned, third member of tøp
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-13
Updated: 2017-08-02
Packaged: 2018-12-01 17:08:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11490849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noseandfeetarerunning/pseuds/noseandfeetarerunning
Summary: Josh missed her. He never realised 'til he saw her again, or maybe he got used to it, but whatever it was, he wasn't letting her go the second time.Certain circumstances leave Twenty One Pilots incomplete but Tyler and Josh are confident in their new replacement. That is, if Josh doesn't ruin it with his stupid feelings first.





	1. prologue

Josh wakes up to the starry night sky, amazed, and subsequently confused, he vaguely remembers going to bed in his bunk, not the wilderness.

"Josh! You're awake, thank God."

Josh blinks. The voice is coming from his right but his head is heavy, and there's a pressure behind his eyes. It comes and goes like the swash and backwash of waves.

"What happened." is what he wants to say, but all that comes out is a grunt.

"Hang tight ok? The ambulance is coming." the voice is calm, and a coarse hand lands in his own. The reassuring smile of Jon peers over his deranged form.

Josh is quite out of it, but he manages to catch the glimpse of worry Jon's expression betrays. Josh closes his eyes, sea foam is expanding in his chest.

"Hey, hey! Don't fall asleep! You hear that? They're coming to help." Josh raises his eyebrows to keep a slither of eyelid unparted. He strains his ears for the siren of an ambulance, but instead hears crying not too far away.

He jolts upright. That's _Tyler's_ crying. Sea foam rises out of his esophagus, and it barely misses Jon's crouching form, a mix of coffee and sandwiches he had for dinner.

Jon chokes and lets out a broken sob. He closes his eyes for a second, composes himself and takes a deep breath before rubbing Josh between the shoulder blades. There were tears clouding his water line. Josh had never seen him cry, his heart told him something was wrong, but it was too far underwater for the rest of his body to listen. He wanted to panic, to be afraid, but he remained completely silent as Jon slowly fell apart in front of him.

Josh could still hear Tyler's cries. It was manic and heartbreaking and Josh desperately wanted it to stop. He turned his head slowly, congratulating himself on regaining that pathetic amount of motor skill but immediately wanting to retch again at the sight of Tyler.

Tyler stares right at him, eyes wide and hopeless, his arm was twisted at an odd angle and Josh could see the anguish in his eyes; the excruciating pain he had to tolarate, the prospect of never playing the piano again, letting their fans down, letting everyone down.

Josh breaks eye contact before he starts crying too. He focuses on the circle of people around Tyler. Josh wants to be there. He tries standing but ends up puking on the grass again. Jon scrambles over, gently pushing him back into a sitting position. Assuring that the ambulance would be there any moment. Assurance was the only thing anyone could give at this point.

He blacks out.


	2. 1.

The ambulance must've come eventually because Josh wakes up in a hospital bed. It was nighttime outside, the same night hopefully. Tyler was sat asleep in a chair beside the door, arm in a cast, hoodie abandoned on the floor.

He blinks, taking in the room. Before he started making money from music, Josh always thought he'd have to share a hospital room with other patients, that on his deathbed he'd have no visitors aside from the three other rotting cancer patients, all of whom had cancer run in their family as well. Maybe not that one guy in the corner by the window, the veteran, a lifetime smoker dying from lung cancer, but cancer nonetheless. He probably had the most fulfilling life.

But he was here now, not yet there on his deathbed, and Tyler was the one in the corner. It was just them.

Josh sits upright, swinging his legs over the edge, the room spins and his vision goes blurry, there's a crick in his neck and his whole body feels weak. Definitely not the same night.

Nevertheless he stalks slowly over to Tyler, bending to pick up his jacket with a grunt, head spinning. He steadies himself and lays it gently onto Tyler, soft snores escaping the lead singer's mouth.

Josh turns back around looking for any indication as to what time it was, what _day_ it was. Where's his phone?

He thinks back to before he woke up in the hospital bed, the last thing he remembers is getting on stage  at… Madison Square Garden, was it? He doesn't even remember the performance. Was it the second night? He hopes so, don't want to cancel any shows.

He stumbles about in the darkness for a while longer collecting his thoughts before he realises that Tyler was hurt, his arm was in a cast. His bestfriend was in a cast, but it didn't seem surprising. Why?

Just then, the door creaks open and the dim light of the hallway illuminates a slit on the floor. Jon peeks in, first noticing Tyler's sleeping form, mouth agape and drooling, before his eyes adjust and he notices Josh standing in the middle of the room, lost. "The great twenty one pilots" Jon thinks. Its quite the sight.

"You're awake." Josh turns around, clad in cotton pajamas the hospital provided. His hair was flat on one side from laying too long.

"Jon." Josh states, like a child learning names for the first time. "What happened."

Jon laughs humourlessly and closes the door gently. He shakes his head and takes Josh by the hand, leading him back to bed. "This is the third time I'm telling you, man."

Josh shoots him a confused look, "What?".

"You've been in and out of it for the past two days, we even went to the canteen to have lunch this afternoon."

"You're kidding."

Jon shakes his head, "This is the first time you're talking though, I kept asking you what you wanted for lunch but you just kept staring at me." He shivers, clearly creeped out, "It's like you were possesed or something."

Josh tries recalling the incident and almost taste the flavour of mushrooms in his mouth. "Did I drink mushroom soup?"

"Nice, you remember!" 

Josh scratches his head, noticing how his hair wasn't greasy, he must've taken a shower too. "Not really, just bits and pieces." 

Jon's smile falls slightly but ever the optimist states, "Well, the doctor says you'll be fine by morning, he'll be running some tests but that's about it. So no worries. You seem pretty ok to me now, and it's still dark out."

"So what happened?" 

Jon sighs. "The bus crashed into a divider, you were sleeping and must've knocked your head on impact or something 'cause you're suffering from a concussion. Tyler was in the lounge with me, I got away with a bump to my head. But Tyler," he sighs again, "he got thrown across the table and would've hit me if he hadn't broken his fall. He fractured his left arm in four areas, and his hand in one."

Josh feels his mouth go dry. He recalls seeing Tyler's oddly bent arm in the grass patch, the cries. Josh tries to stuff a fist in his mouth, but a whimper still escapes. He glances over at the poor boy, it wasn't a sprain or a simple twist of the joint, this was serious. This was long term. No wonder he was sleeping so deeply, the pain must've kept him awake for hours.

"He's only been here a few hours. Hasn't left your side once the doctor gave him the ok after surgery." _Surgery._  Josh was mildly glad he couldn't remember much, he doesn't think he'd be able to stand the sight of Tyler drugged up on a wheelie bed, heading into an operating theatre to be cut open.

"I'm sorry, man." Jon says, looking over at Tyler too. He knows what this means. They sit in silence for a minute just staring at the rise and fall of his chest. The sling around his neck causing his head to hang over his chest. "The accident wasn't even _that bad_ , I mean, the bus got a little dented, sure, but this happening to you guys, especially Tyler…"

Josh closes his eyes and sighs, "It's not your fault man. Do the fans know?"

Jon shrugs, "The roads were pretty empty, and it wasn't a serious crash but I'm not too sure, you're gonna have to ask Michael on that one."

"What did the doctor say about Tyler's arm? Are they expecting a full recovery?" They cast their gazes toward the sleeping boy.

Jon's lip quivers, "They said it's going to take a lot of physio and time, and-and," he clears his throat, " _fragility_ , but you know how Tyler is. He's not gonna listen and _hates_  cancelling shows and letting the fans down. When he goes in, he goes _all in_."

Josh fumes quietly, glaring at the snoozing boy. He felt guilty for thinking it but, he just wanted Tyler to get better, who cares what the fans think?

Maybe it's their intense gazing, but Tyler stirs in his sleep before his eyes blink open. He slurps up his drool and stretches in the seat, forgetting about his arm and wincing once he remembers.

Josh stands up too quickly and gets a little light headed, but Jon stables him as they approach Tyler.

Tyler's still blinking the sleep out of his eyes as Josh brushes a hand through his hair and brings him in for a hug against his chest.

"Hey man." Tyler mumbles against his chest.

"Hey."

"God, I was so worried." Tyler sighs out. Josh cards his fingers through Tyler's fluffy mane. The younger boy clutches the back of Josh's shirt with his good hand and rubs his face aginst the front. 

"Don't be. We'll heal." Tyler stills and looks up at Josh's face. He could tell what Tyler wanted to ask.

What were they going to do now? They've never had an injury bad enough to stop performing. Josh smiles sadly, "Let's just talk about this later, ok? Once we get outta here."

"We're the only two that got injured, you know? Isn't that weird?" It _was_  weird. Josh's mum always joked that one of them must've sold their soul to the devil. He's starting to suspect Tyler, if not, how did two people get so lucky? The past years have seen their band snowballing into the huge triumph they were. And now, time was up, Satan's here to carry them off to hell.

Jon cuts short their embrace with a pat on Josh's back and a mention of coming back in the morning before leaving the room. Tyler yawns.

"Wanna lie with me?" Before receiving a reply, Josh gently grabs Tyler's good hand as they stumble towards the bed. Josh takes the left, he always does, even if it means having Tyler's cast lay on his chest.

Josh caresses the few tips of fingers sticking out of the cast as Tyler gets comfortable. He scoots closer once Tyler relaxes, relishing in the warmth of human contact. Without much thought he begins humming:

the sun will rise, and we will try again

* * *

 

They hole up in Jon's place after Josh is discharged, seeing as he's the only one who lives in New York. They were perfectly ok with staying at a hotel for the time being, not wanting to overstay their welcome, but Jon insisted, leading them to current time, an hour and a half drive away from the hospital.

Michael and Mark are already there as they step through the threshold, greeting them with half-hearted, "you're back"s, "yay"s and one "why didn't you die". But Josh appreciates the effort, it  _was_ six in the morning after all. 

Tyler fell asleep in the car and Jon takes it upon himself to nudge past the two, plonking the sleeping boy on the couch. He then excuses himself to get breakfast for them. Josh wonders if he regrets being dragged into this, if he hadn't wanted to hang out with Tyler that night would he still be here, opening his house to everyone? He probably would. Jon's a nice guy.

Josh did find himself feeling better in the morning, recalling the events leading up to the accident but not including those two days in the hospital. They've dubbed it his sleepwalking days. Their next show was two weeks away: Reading festival. He sighs just thinking about it.

Once Mark goes back to bed, and Josh has taken a seat at the island across Michael he can feel the change of atmosphere.

It starts of alright, Michael, being the good manager he is, has updated Josh's family on his condition and _assuring_ his mum not to fly down over nothing.

"She'll still be on edge until you call her man." Josh nods, dreading the call. He can't stand keeping his mother worried.

"What about Jen?" he asks. Michael chuckles and says, "When I told her she started crying and calling Tyler dumb. Yeah. Tyler's talked to her though so I think they're good."

A silence passes over them, both pairs of eyes on Jon as he whistles looking for his car keys, even though he just drove. Josh isn't sure he's ready for a lecturing.

Once the door clicks, signalling Jon's exit, Michael breaks.

"I know you guys don't want to cancel shows, and you know that I don't want you performing when you're hurt. I also know that we'll keep going back and forth til you guys get your way. I'm tired man. It's been hell these past few days. I'll let you perform ok? But please - _please_ , just, be careful alright?" Michael sighs out. That went better than expected.

Under normal circumstances, or ones slightly less severe than this, Josh would have been ecstatic. He glances over to the sleeping figure on the couch. Tyler was curled in on himself, a grimace set on his face. It was hard to associate the small man with the one he saw on stage almost every night.

These aren't normal circumstances, however. 

"Actually, I agree with you on this one, Tyler looks really weak." Josh goes over and lays a hand across the boy's forehead, smoothing out his scrunched eyebrows. "As much as we care about the fans, I'm more worried about him now."

Michael quirks an eyebrow, "That's a first." he states but looks pleased enough. He quietly mumbles "Joshler is real."

Josh retracts his hand from Tyler like he's been burned, cheeks heating up, even though they shouldn't, Tyler's _married_  for God's sake. He turns toward Michael and they make eye contact for a few awkward seconds.

"I'm gonna take a walk. Tell Tyler for me." Josh states, hoping to escape the awkwardness of the situatuon. He grabs a coat that's just laying around and cuts Michael's worried retort by leaving the house.

Josh leans against the front door. Everything is going to shit. He takes a deep breath and pinches the space between his eyes before pushing off the surface, realising then that he's in unfamiliar territory. The least of his problems.

He heads down the road.


	3. 2.

When Josh starts getting dizzy from walking too much, he _is_  recovering from a concussion after all, he ducks into a quaint coffee house to warm up. He embraces the gush of warmth as he steps in and a bell chimes over his head. The place is completely empty.

Josh picks a booth in the corner by the window and just as he plomps into the dusty seat, his phone chimes in his hand. Tyler's name flashes on the screen, he readies himself for Tyler's begging, building up the will to keep the boy away from harm.

Once Josh answers the phone he knows he'll break. Tyler is _crying_.

" _Josh_." Tyler hiccups, Josh sighs.

"Ty, please don't cry. It's for your own good ok?" Josh pinches the area between his eyes.

"But I'm _fine_." He whines. "Sure I can't play anything but we have backing tracks for that and I can still sing and - you're not the only one in this band! You don't get to make decisions for me."

Guilt tripping, two can play at this game.

"You need rest Tyler, _I_  need rest." Tyler goes silent. He knows Josh is fine, but he's not one to take any chances. Josh can imagine him gnawing at his lip, crafting a way to convince his drummer to continue.

 _"_   _I_ _thought you cared about the fans?"_ Tyler lets out shakily.

Josh really thought he had greater resolve, but the lone mention of fans sends guilt coursing through his body. He lets out a frustrated noise and Tyler knows he's won.

"I'll be carefuI, I promise! I'll sit and sing and I won't scream too much and we have backing tracks, I know you hate those but it's better than nothing right? Oh, oh! We can ask the techs to cover for me-"

"Ugh fine whatever, make your injury permanent for all I care." Tyler giggles, he knows Josh cares. "But if you really want to do this, do it right, go find a replacement, just one guy, I don't want a bunch of different people playing with us." Tyler answers with a giddy "ok" before hanging up.

Someone clears their throat beside him, and Josh is made aware of the fact that he's in public. 

"C-can I take your order?" There's a girl beside him. He blushes at how loud he was speaking in comparison.

"Uhh, yeah, just black coffee." he flashes her an awkward smile. She flashes one back, equally as awkward. They laugh.

She's still standing there once it dies down. Josh quirks an eyebrow. A fan?

"Do you, uh, remember me?" she averts her gaze, embarrassed.

Josh searches the capacity of his brain, he loves recognising fans, especially ones who think they're forgettable, the smile on their faces is what Josh lives for.

Nothing comes up but her smile seems vaguely familiar.

"Was it a show…?" he asks, unsure.

She shakes her head, dismissing the question, "It's ok, it was a long time ago, shouldn't have assumed you'd recognise me." she mumbles out. Their smiles may be the best when he remembers, but their disappointment hits just as hard when he doesn't.

She walks behind the counter hurriedly, starting up the coffee machine. Josh realises they're the only two here. He watches intently as she makes his coffee, willing her to look his way. She avoids his gaze. He feels the excuse of recently recovering from a concussion at the tip of his tongue but he doesn't want to lie to her, his memory is alright. He owes her that much.

"Would you like a cake or something…?" she asks across the shop, the same time he says, "So where do I know you from."

They both blush and wait for the other to answer. The silence is palpable.

Josh breaks and says, "The meringue looks good", the same time she says. "High school."

"High school?" and they've chosen which conversation to follow up. Josh is so used to being recognised by fans, it's refreshing to find people that know him for something other than music, and what are the chances of meeting a fellow Columbian? (someone from columbus, not columbia. That's not the official term he's pretty sure.)

"Yeah... I was your lab partner in chemistry?" it clicks then.

"Juno!" she smiles so bright when Josh exclaims it in that little coffeehouse that he's taken back to simpler times, when broken test tubes were their biggest problems.

"I can't believe I didn't recognise you! You've changed so much, you got your braces removed!" No wonder her smile seemed kinda familiar.

"Well, yeah, it's been 10 years." she chuckles, her posture relaxed now.

"How have you been?" Josh gestures to the seat opposite him, she contemplates for a moment before finding no harm in taking a break, the place was empty anyways.

She shrugs, "Ok I guess… didn't really expect myself to end up here." Josh wonders if she means New York or working minimum wage. He doesn't ask.

It was weird, Juno was a bright girl in school and she was hard working as hell too. Josh wouldn't have expected her to end up here either, just like how he wouldn't have expected to make it as big as he has. They were close in high school, or as close as acquaintances could get without becoming friends, they both loved music and were crazy clumsy, which made for some fun times in the lab.

"How 'bout you? Any crazy tour stories?" she jokes, no spite in her tone. What made them so similar was their synonymous goal of becoming musicians one day. The disparity was apparent, Josh had heard Juno play and wonders how he's made it further than her. Trust Juno not to get jealous over it.

"Yeah… it's been amazing, I used to fawn over Twenty One Pilots you know? And to become part of the band was already a dream come true, let alone how big we became. How about you? You wanted to be a singer too didn't you?"

Juno draws patterns on the table, disappointment clear, "It didn't work out. A label was interested for awhile but they dropped me after I told them I didn't want to change my music. It's _my_ music y'know?" she looks straight at Josh and he knows, he _knows_.

She sighs, "Sometimes I wonder if I should've just sucked it up and taken it." Josh feels slightly undeserving, he could tell how much she cared about music.

Even though his band _has_  compromised creatively after being signed, he finds himself denying Juno's insecurities.

"It's _your_  music." he states firmly. She gives him a squinty eyed smile.

"It's nice knowing that someone as successful as you agrees with me." he reaches across the table on impulse and give her hand a firm squeeze.

"It's part of the job" he quips. "Do you still make music now?" he asks, it'd be great to hear some of her stuff, nostalgic even, she used to hum as they tried figuring out different organic compounds.

She notices their still clasped hands and retracts her's before scratching her head, flushing, "I, uh, yeah I do. Got a bunch of songs and stuff." Josh chuckles at her shy demeanor. It was cute. 

"I perform at the bar I work at sometimes. Actually… I've got a shift there tonight. You can swing by if you're free." Josh scans through his schedule mentally, his silence coming off wrong.

"I-I mean if you, uh, want." she quickly corrects, and Josh feels that pang of regret again.

"I wanna go." Josh states firmly and she smiles, digging through the pocket in her apron for pen and paper. She scribbles the name of the bar and her phone number.

"I'll be there from 9, you can come whenever." she lets out a nervous laugh that makes Josh feel like he's scored a date.

"Oh! I just remembered, do you still want that meringue?" Josh's stomache chooses that exact moment to remind him that he hasn't taken breakfast. He's red-faced, but the laugh that rings from Juno is worth it.

"I'll get you something more substantial, chicken sandwich ok?" he nods dutifully and she gets to work.

Josh watches her back as she prepares his order. She still had the same wide hazel eyes and pillowy lips and has filled out over the years, sporting just the right edges. But there's a new maturity that Josh doesn't get, the eyebags, the hunched shoulders, the shaking palms.

His eyes fix on the bow of her apron, reminiscing his highschool days. It rustles as she moves and his gaze eventually rests gently on the curve of her butt. He snaps himself out of it and feels immensely guilty. How's he gonna look her in the eye now? Ugh.

He distracts himself by fiddling with his phone before realising that he's forgotten to bring his wallet. He scrambles through the pockets of Jon's coat and finds a five. He doesn't think Jon will mind.

As she comes over with his toasted sandwich, he speaks up, "I kinda only have five bucks." he states sheepishly. She chuckles and places the plate in front of him regardless. "It's on the house, my boss is a dick, let this be my middle finger to him."

Josh honestly doesn't want her getting in trouble, but laughs anyway and accepts the food. "Why's he a dick?" the word is foreign on his tongue.

"He just- ok, let me quote him: if the customer looks rich, double the price of whatever he's having. Notice how there are no prices?" Josh's eyes widen and he scans the room only to come up short. That _has_ to be illegal or someting. She continues ranting, "I get it, the place is going bankrupt, but maybe the reason is because you're _stealing_  from people!" she exclaims exasperatedly.

She shakes her head, recalling that she's speaking to Josh. "Sorry, shouldn't have laid it on you like that." A nervous chuckle.

He thinks of Tyler never playing the piano again. Her problems are so menial compared to Josh's he wants to laugh, possibly one up her. But he stops short and accepts that she's got the better end of the deal.

"I'm sure it'll work out." He shoots her a reassuring smile, one that she mirrors.

"I hope so too."

A smile like that should be illegal.

* * *

 

He returns to Jon's house, belly full, mother called and smiling at the prospect of seeing Juno again.

"Dallon? Yeah man, it's Tyler. Are you free on the 26th of August, its a, uh, friday? We're performing at Reading and I sprained my hand." Josh drops the coat off where he found it and quirks an eyebrow at Tyler who's splayed on the couch. Sprained? He was in _surgery_.

"You're free? Yes!" Tyler shoots upright and uses his shoulder to hold the phone in place. He grabs some papers from the coffee table, reading from it he continues, "That's great. We'll be playing heavydirtysoul, ride, stres- What's a heavydirtysoul? Dude seriously? That's my song. Fuck." Tyler knocks his forehead against the sofa's armrest.

"It's fine, we can still make this work." Tyler is quite obviously convincing himself more than anyone else.

"Are you willing to abandon panic for TØP? It's only for a few months."

Tyler's about to go in for another hit when he stills. He sighs and says, "You know what? Forget it." and hangs up. Josh approaches him silently, brushing his hand through Tyler's hair, working out all the knots.

"What are we gonna do Josh?" Tyler has a helpless look in his eye. "I've called my entire contact list."

" _We_?" Josh stops his hand. "You're the one that's well enough to continue." he mocks, ruffling Tyler's hair and walking to the kitchen.

"Don't act like you don't care." Tyler whines. Josh rolls his eyes, taking a red bull out of the fridge. He presses the cool can against Tyler's neck, getting a shiver out of the younger boy. 

"I _do_  care, but I have faith in Michael to work it out. Stop stressing ok?" he pops the tab and hands the red bull to Tyler, hands travelling to his tense shoulders.

"I know we'll find someone, but I want them to be _good_ , better than _me_. It's the least we could do for the fans." Josh hums and rolls his thumbs to loosen the boy up.

"I still have faith in Michael, if he fails us, we'll just fire him."

"I'm right here y'know." Michael pipes up from behind a laptop, reading glasses perched precariously on the bridge of his nose.

Josh chuckles, "Well now you know how much is at stake." he stops his hands and leans down to give Tyler's fluffy hair a kiss. "Why don't you go to bed, we'll sort it out ok?" Josh mumbles against his scalp.

"I feel like I'm watching the intro to porn. You guys are so gay." Michael chuckles out.

Josh drapes himself over Tyler dramatically, avoiding his injured arm of course, while Tyler quirks an eyebrow at Michael.

"And what's wrong with that?" Tyler retorts, turning his head to Josh and saying in a faux sensual voice, "Oh baby, my arm's broke, I think I need your help with my little problem." he winks.

"What did I just walk into?" the three whip their heads around to the voice of the new entrant. Mark stands at the top of the stairwell.

All four of them make eye contact for an awkward beat before bursting into boisterous laughter.


	4. 3.

 

Josh loosens Tyler's grip on his waist, ducking under his arm and sliding out of bed. He looks back at the Tyler's sleeping figure and almost makes it to the door.

"Where are you going?" Tyler mumbles, rubbing his eyes one by one.

"Uh. Out."

"At this time of night?" he pouts, and suddenly Josh knows what it's like being married to Tyler. How does Jenna put up with this?

"Its 8.30, Tyler. And I'm a grown ass man. I can go wherever I want." he retorts.

"Yeah, without _me_." Tyler's pout somehow gets deeper. Josh weighs the pros and cons of Tyler being there and finally lets out a frustrated yell, "Fine! Hurry put your pants on, we're gonna be late."

Tyler yelps excitedly and jumps off the bed, fetching his previously discarded skinny jeans. He struggles to put it on with one hand and Josh reaches over to help him button up.

Tyler beams at him as Josh descends the stairs, rolling his eyes. He tosses his phone over his shoulder to the one armed boy.

"Call Dallon and tell him you're sorry." He pauses and rethinks, "And any other person you may have offended."

* * *

 Tyler finishes his last phonecall as they approach the bar. It was 10. What was supposed to be a 15 minute drive turned out to be Josh's ego preceeding him and driving in circles for the better part of an hour. Tyler was incessant with trying to help, but Josh stuck his ground, adamant on keeping Tyler in the dark till the very end. He knows too well how Tyler will react to Josh trying to sneka out at night. To meet a girl nonetheless. They finally settled on a compromise: asking Jon for directions.

When they roll up to the seemingly correct address, Josh is equal parts confused and disappointed. If you squinted, the building could've been brick red if it weren't covered in moss. The bar was at ground level to apartments above it, tendrils creeping up the pipes and a cursive _Class Dismissed_  was lit in neon above the entrance, only the _C_  wasn't working so it read _ass Dismissed_. Classy.

Once they enter, a lone pair of eyes lands on them, confused, they probably didn't get many patrons on a Tuesday night. Regardless, the bearded bartenderter shoots them a curt nod before going back to cleaning glasses.

Josh scans the room for Juno. The bar was warm and woody and small but he loved it, Tyler, not so much.

"What are we doing here? A little early to drink your problems away, isn't it." He glances around at the unoccupied seats and lowers his voice, "It's so shady."

Josh remembers a time when Tyler wouldn't give a damn where Josh took him. Rooftops, underpasses, silos, Tyler never questioned him.

Josh sighs in annoyance and gives in, "I'm here to see an old friend." Tyler lets out an "Ohhh…." and drags Josh to a seat by the front, in view of the makeshift stage.

Josh hesitates slightly, the idea of Juno seeing him while she performed was mortifying. Tyler senses his resistance and quirks an eyebrow at his drummer.

But before Tyler has a chance to tease him, the wooden door creaks open and Juno darts in, still adorned in her coffee uniform. She fumbles over an apology for being late to Keegan, Josh has learnt, is the name of the bartender, and squeaks once she notices the two of them watching her movements with amusement.

"Josh!" she's beaming once again, not so much at him this time. She pulls a strand of hair behind her ear and chuckles nervously, "You brought your friend."

Tyler takes initiative and extends his functional hand  to her, "Tyler Joseph" he says, scraping up whatever charm he's got left after attaining Jenna Back.

"Juno Valentine, but you can call me June." She returns the handshake and bashfully adds, "Actually, Josh is the only one who calls me Juno."

"Huh. I didn't know that." Josh replies. Wow. He didn't know that. She looks right at the boy and states bluntly,

"Yeah. I don't have a lot of friends."

They leave it at that, words coming a bit harder at the joke that was all too true. Juno never really fit in, but neither did Josh, so he laughs anyway. He's alllowed to.

Tyler laughs awkwardly. Stupid jock.

"Well, nice to meet you Juno." Tyler says, lifting her hand and laying a kiss on the back of it. This is why Tyler was married and Josh wasn't even in a relationship. Juno' eyes widen, cheeks tinting pink, Tyler dons an amused smirk.

Josh clears his throat to take some attention off the shy girl and awkwardly states, "You performing now?"

She stutters, "Uh, if you - if you want me to. We normally start at about 11, when more people come." she glances around at the empty bar. "Plus, I kinda just got back from hell." the two shoot her confused looks. She backtracks, "I - I mean the coffee place haha." yes, she _said_ haha.

"Oh yeah, you're still wearing your apron." Josh blurts out and immediately regrets it when a look of humiliation washes over her face. She glances down at herself and covers her face with her hands shaking her head. Keegan laughs from the bar and they turn towards him as he states, "Not the first time." She groans at his revelation and sends him a playful glare.

"I'm such a scatter brain. Can't believe I came all this way with my apron still on." she mutters and hurriedly unties it. A hue of red spreads across her face from embarrassment. "My chest actually hurts from how embarrassed I am."

Tyler tries to stifle a laugh when she twists her body 180 and struggles to untie the dead knot she created, her face growing redder when she hears him. He glances at Josh, who has the fondest smile on his face.

Juno, still oblivious to her surroundings, pulls at her apron, twisting it till the bow sits at her front and she tugs at the knot helplessly. Tyler has a glint in his eye and Josh finds himself shaking his head at the boy, disagreeing with whatever he's going to say.

Tyler smirks and asks, "Do you need help with that? Josh can help." he pushes the boy forward.

She looks up at the yellow haired boy hopefully and Josh can't find it in himself to say no. He reaches toward one of the dangling strings and tugs it experimentally. Nope. He tries the other. Not that one either. He takes a deep breath.

Juno stares at his hands as he reaches to the knotted part, focusing on a single exposed strip, he tugs and twists at it to loosen, willing himself not to look down her shirt. There's an awkward moment where he tugs too hard and she stumbles forward. He laughs uneasily.

"Maybe you should use your teeth." Tyler states. Josh almost glares at him but the knot comes loose just then (thank god) and whatever tension Josh had is released as he steps away from her.

She takes the apron off, thanking Josh breathily before heading to the backroom with a shout of "Be right back!"

Tyler leads him back to the table and they sit on the uncomfortable wooden stools. Four men enter, most likely from work. They take a seat at the bar and Keegan seems to recognise them, pouring drinks even before they exchange hellos.

"She's cute." Tyler starts, Josh looks away from the men and nods in agreement

The door squeaks again. This time, a younger group of teens. There's more of them, almost 10. They're louder and barely legal. They settle closer to the entrance and further from the stage, pushing tables together to accomodate everyone. 

One of them has his gazed locked on the two of them and Josh knows their dealing with a fan. He glances at Tyler's cast and he feels a surge of panic, guilt.

"I think we should tell the fans about the accident before they find out from someone else." Tyler quirks an eyebrow. "I mean, we owe them that much."

Tyler nods. It was better to hear it from them than some random kid in a bar.

Conventionally, they should consult Michael on any social statements they make, but they've broken that convention so many times, the man probably wouldn't be too surprised.

Tyler unlocks his phone with one hand and lays it flat on the table before using his pointer finger to type out his tweet. 

"Can you give a thumbs up." Josh asks looking over his phone towards Tyler, hoping for a photo for his Instagram.

"Dude. I'm so hopped up on painkillers I can't feel my face, let alone my arm." Josh feels bad and settles on taking a picture of Tyler's bare cast, which reminds him to draw something phallic when Tyler falls asleep.

Josh's phone buzzes with a notification.

tyler jøseph has tweeted:

"@joshuadun and I got into a fight with @drake. We are currently out of comission but shows are, as of now, still on going." 

A picture of Tyler's cast was attached. And another of Josh snoozing unglamorously, dribbling every where.

Josh's jaw drops. "When was that!" 

Tyler cackles and responds between choked breaths, "The hospital, Jon took it."

Josh squints his eyes, _extremely_ tempted to edit a drawing of a penis on Tyler's cast. But for the sake of the band's reputation he settles for "#1 drake fanboy"

Josh posts the picture with the caption:

"Had to hold Tyler back from "giving his love" to drake, whatever that means. Got in a fight with security, Tyler fractured his arm a bunch and I knocked my head. Would tell you who won but I don't really remember."

Tyler shoots him an offended look, ready to continue the banter but rolling his eyes instead, saying,

"You know this means that we're going to have to do an interview or something right? To address this?"

Josh groans, he hates interviews, they always ask the same things. Maybe they'll switch it up a bit with all this going on, but Josh just isn't good around strangers in general. He checks the replies to his post, half wishing them a speedy recovery and the other half wondering if they actually got in a fight with drake's security.

"They're probably going to ask me more questions, man, with my arm and all. So don't worry too much yeah?" Josh nods sadly, wondering what would have happened if _he_ were the one with a broken arm. As much as Tyler denies it, Josh _is_  disposable after all. Tyler's lucky he's still got his voice.

Regardless, Josh still wishes their places were swapped.

"Sorry I took so long." Juno says, sliding into a seat, "Were you guys here since nine?" Josh is slightly awestruck by the knee length black dress she's in and the sweet smell of vanilla wafting off her, so Tyler makes an effort to respond on account of both of them.

"Nah, don't worry, we just got here. Josh kinda got lost on the way over." she chuckles and looks over to the yellow haired boy, who has an embarrassed grin on his face.

"Where did you guys come from?"

"Jon's place," she furrows her eyebrows, "Jon Bellion?" Josh offers. Her eyes light up, a look of recognition on her face.

"Is that why you're still in New York? Or is it because of..." she gestures to Tyler's cast, somehow knowing it was a touchy subject.

Tyler sighs, "The tour bus crashed after our second show at MSG. It was our last show but we still have a few festivals and stuff so... yeah, we're still trying to figure it all out." Juno nods in understanding and Tyler continues, "We're trying our best to keep the shows going but the doctor says I can't perform for at least 6 weeks, which is bullshit," he rolls his eyes dramatically, "I can sing, still, and like, play the right hand parts on the piano." He scoffs, "We've got this."

Juno laughs at his feigned confidence and rests a hand on his shoulder, "I'm sure it'll all work out, I'm confident of it, and if you guys need any help, at all, you can call me." she reverts back to her old self and blushes, "Not that I'd be of much help."

Tyler grins and thanks her.

"But why are you guys still staying in New York? Don't you wanna go home?" she tilts her head in confusion and Josh subconsciously follows her movement.

"Oh I have one check up here before we go back, its just a convenience thing."

"Ohhh…"

"They gave me a card for the hunk of metal in my arm, in case it sets off a metal detector or something." 

" _Cool_ " Juno looks slightly disgusted but mostly intrigued. "Does your arm feel heavier? Or lighter?" Josh wonders why his friends are weird.

Tyler makes some movement to indicate he's weighing his arm but shrugs in the end.

"I can't really feel anything at the moment. Too much painkillers."

There's a lull in conversation after Tyler excuses himself to the toilet and Josh uses that time to admire the woman Juno has grown into. She looks right back at him, the same hazel eyes from all those years ago. Her hair had gotten darker over the years, she twirls it around the slender fingers Josh used to admire during lab. 

Her face was bare except for the pink tainting her lips, a glossy shine Josh honestly doesn't think she needs. Not that he minds.

She laughs nervously under Josh's intense stare, hiding her palms in the long sleeves of her dress.

"It's so nice to see that you haven't changed" she starts, breaking him out of his reverie. "You're still the same, sweet Josh from all those years ago." she has a nostalgic smile on her face, "I think those times in the lab were one of the best in my life. Isn't it sad?"

"Because we finally got that A?" Josh proposes, but he knew why.

"Yes, that" she pauses, the next words slightly harder to form, "But also because you were a really great friend. You used to be the highlight of my day." And there it is. Out in the open.

On some level Josh knew he was her only friend in high school, but he never acknowledged it, pushing her aside for a clique. He was , ok? He just wanted to belong. But Josh knew, he knew and he did nothing about it. He was the textbook definition of _fair-weather friend_. Her confession wasn't one sided. Josh had more fun with her than he did with any of his other dumb skater friends and he wasn't too young to realise it at the time. He was just too selfish, and cared too much about what people thought about him, to do anything about it.

"I'm sorry." Josh says. He wonders if she's saying this now that he's famous and doesn't have feelings. His sense of self-preservation really made itself known after Debbie.

Juno shakes her head and grabs his hand, circling her thumb over his knuckles. Her eyes are trained on their joined hands. Her hand was so small in his, he just couldn't look away.

"What for? There's nothing to apologise for."

There's plenty, he thinks. He's sorry for all the time they wasted. The 10 years they spent apart, the missed opportunity of having a great friend. And it's not just Juno, it's all the people he's ever met. Not seeing Juno just hurt the most

Josh gets off his chair and encases her in a hug. She's so short her chin barely rest on his shoulder, even on tiptoes.

"I remember when we were the same height." she says, giving up on tiptoeing and nuzzling Josh's chest instead. "You were 18. I honestly didn't think you'd grow anymore."

"I'm a late bloomer." Josh states with a chuckle. "It was actually quite worrying."

She laughs along with him, arms still around his waist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is slow as heck I'm sorry haha and nothing really happens.


	5. 4.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tenses change a lot. I suck at writing haha.

Tyler comes back just after Keegan calls for Juno, cutting their little embrace short. She blushes at being caught and hurries over to the man who then asks her to take orders from the group of teens.

"Dude, where were you. I've been ringing you the past 10 minutes." A flash of worry flows through Josh. He gives Tyler a once over, looking for any injuries. Or, well, any new ones. The boy just looks slightly more _flushed_  than usual.

"What's wrong?" Josh is genuinely confused.

Tyler leans over the table and whispers, "Dude, I can't button my pants up with one hand."

Josh bursts out laughing, collecting himself enough only to ask, "How'd you pull it down?"

"That's different, gravity only works one way." which sends Josh into another fit. "I had to ask someone to heLP ME. This is not funny Joshua. Think about it. I had to ask a poor kid, who by the way is definitely a fan, he didn't have to say it but I knew, to help _tuck me in_." he smacks the back of Josh's head, "I am going to get arrested, stop laughing!"

Josh is breathless, "there's gonna - gonna be, descriptions of your - your _wiener_ everywhere." he doubles over yet again. Tyler let's out a whimper and pouts. Josh feels bad and calms down for two seconds, before remembering how _funny_  it was.

Juno chooses that moment to go on stage and Josh instantly sobers up. Tyler rolls his eyes. Trust Josh to only take _girls_ seriously.

Juno ascends the stage, which was made of wooden crates, and grabs the microphone off its stand. She speaks into it but no sound comes out, she taps it, confused, before realising she hasn't turned it on. Josh feels bad, but he laughs along with the rest of the crowd, which without his knowledge has more than tripled in size.

"Hey everyone, thanks for coming out tonight, even though its Tuesday and you losers have work tomorrow." a wave of "boo"s echo through the bar. She seems a lot more comfortable on stage than off. She chuckles before continuing, "Anyway, we'll be doing the usual thing y'know, song requests and stuff. The forms for requests are at the side of the stage as usual, as is the drop off box, but knowing you lazy asses, you'll probably just shout your requests." The crowd laughs once again with a good spirited, "Fuck you!" ringing out.

Juno chuckles before continuing, "Yeah… we'll be starting at 11 but you guys know that. I just like talking in the mic." she flips the switch off before tuning her guitar and uke, making her way to the bar.

Some people go up to place their requests, but most hang behind, sipping their drinks and waiting for the performance to start.

Juno makes her way back with three draft beers, sliding them across the table. Tyler shares a look with him.

"We, uh, don't really drink." Josh pipes up. "Sorry."

"I'm so dumb. I should've asked you guys first. Guess I'll drink these then…" She downs half her beer. "What would you like? Keegan makes some killer mocktails. The nachos are pretty good too."

Josh settles for the nachos and OJ while Tyler insists on "The girliest drink they have"

Juno giggles and heads to the bar, plating the nachos while Keegan makes Tyler's drink.

His phone buzzes on the wooden table at the same time as Tyler's. Group chat.

Michael: what have you done this time.

Michael: drake's manager called

Michael: I think you guys forget how big you are.

Tyler: sorry :(

Josh: sorry :(

Michael: I don't care. Fix it.

Josh let's out a sigh and opens twitter.

Twenty One Pilots: Michael scolded us :( So to be clear, we didn't get in a scuffle with @drake. It was a joke. Sorry :( @drake.

"Done." Josh states as tyler reads over the message.

"You sound like my mom. Scuffle? Seriously?"

"Scuffle is a perfectly legitimate word. And words are meant to be used." he checks the replies to the tweet and notices everyone supporting Tyler's stance on "scuffle". He scoffs.

"Here ya go Ty." Juno sets the sparkling pink drink in front of him, complete with a curly straw, and the nachos and OJ in front of Josh. They thank her quietly, earning them a sweet smile and a "No problem!"

"Quite a fanbase you've got here." Tyler states teasingly as she takes her seat.

Juno gives a toothy grin, "I know right?" she giggles, "I know most of their names, but it's always new faces that excite me the most."

"So…" Josh starts, unsure of how to phrase it without being rude. "Do you play any originals?"

She cringes slightly, "I used to. But more people started coming and I didn't really feel comfortable playing my songs, they were too personal." She sips her beer with two hands and glances at Tyler, the man who sings about the skeletons in his closet in front of millions. "Maybe I'm too sensitive, I don't know." she shrugs. "Good thing that label dropped me huh."

"I think it works differently for different people." Tyler starts, noticing the looks directed at him. "It's cathartic for me, once I got over the fear of everyone knowing my deepest, darkest thoughts." Tyler smiles at her, "It's kinda like therapy." Juno nods, riveted.

"I don't know if I'll ever be able to do it. Which makes me wanting to be a musician pretty dumb, which artist only plays covers?" she laughs sadly tracing the rim of the cup.

"Anyway, gotta go through the requests." she finishes her pint before getting off the seat and dusting her dress, darting to the box by the makeshift stage.

"She should stop second guessing herself. She's really quite smart." Tyler says.

"I know right? She used to be my partner in lab and we got an A on our final project. It was my only A."

They abandon that conversation once Juno's voice crackles over the mic,

"I _paid_ to download the ultimate guitar app and you guys still request the same songs every time." she shakes her head in mock disappointment.

"And who is that one anonymous idiot that keeps requesting All Star. I know it's one of you." she points at the group of teenagers with squinted eyes.

"You'd love it if I actually sang it, wouldn't you. Too bad I have standards." Keegan snorts and the room erupts into chortles.

"You're right Keegan, I'll play it, as I do every time, because I have no spine."

She grabs the electric guitar off the stand and strums a riff to what Josh thinks is a One Direction song.

"But before that here's One Direction's infinity. I'm not kidding, one of you actually requested this. Didn't know you guys had such _great_  taste in music." the crowd chuckles for some reason. But whatever, Josh thinks One Direction's cool.

 

_Down to earth_

_Keep on falling when I know it hurts_

_Going faster than a million miles an hour_

_Trying to catch my breath some way, somehow._

 

Her voice was different from 10 years ago. What used to be light and raspy has evolved into a deeper, rounder voice with a lot more control. Josh felt nostalgic, no matter how different it sounded, it was still uniquely Juno.

 

_And now I'm one step closer to being_

_Two steps far from you_

_When everybody wants you_

_Everybody wants you._

 

She was good, not as experienced as Tyler, but a lot more technical. Josh doesn't question how she knows the song word for word (definitely a 1D fan).

"I couldn't really remember the chords and stuff so I just winged it," she chuckles nervously, "Hope it sounded ok." he didn't notice and is quite embarrassed to call himself a musician.

He watches as the same girl who was stuck in her apron an hour ago unravels into the girl on stage, performing unapologetically.

As the night goes on, the bar gets sparse, and once it reaches the AM, most patrons left are retirees or the handful of leftover teenagers. The songs have turned a lot more classic rock. Tyler is seemingly as entranced as Josh is, unwilling to leave. It's not like they had to work tomorrow.

After her rendition of _Open Arms_ , which didn't sound at all karaoke (how is that possible?), and a few dispersed claps, the boy Tyler identifies as the one who helped him pull up his pants, shouts,

“Play some Twenty One Pilots!"

Juno glances over at Tyler, who gives her an approving nod.

She speaks into the mic, "I put in a lot of effort into making that request box. You're lucky I like Twenty One Pilots. I kinda only know a few of their songs… I know _what a fake fan._ " she laughs nervously and avoids Josh's gaze. She scratches her head sheepishly and a lock of hair comes lose out of her ponytail. Josh resists the urge to go up on that stage and brush it behind her ear.

Juno unplugs her guitar and takes her uke.

"Is Ride ok?" she's looking at Tyler, who gives an encouraging nod. The guy at the back shous "Yeah!"

"You know, I went to the same school as Josh Dun. He was my lab partner, he was pretty chill." Josh blushes, and Tyler laughs.

Most people weren't too familiar with their band but almost all Ohioans knew of them, not that he was bragging, it was a fact. Not much come from Ohio

 

_I just wanna stay in the sun where I find_

_I know it's hard sometimes_

_Pieces of peace in the sun's peace of mind_

_I know it's hard sometimes_

_Yeah, I think about the end just way too much_

_But it's fun to fantasize_

_On my enemies who wouldn't wish who I was_

_But it's fun to fantasize_

 

Josh didn't usually like covers of their songs unless it was altered to sound different, but he didn't mind Juno's cover, it felt like home, just like Tyler. Maybe it's an Ohio thing.

Tyler gives her a reassuring smile and thumbs up. She looks back into the crowd, a pleased smile on her face.

 

_I'm falling_

_So I'm taking my time in my ride_

 

Juno takes a seat at the off stage piano for the bridge and Tyler's expression grows serious in some sort of revelation.

 

_I've been thinking too much_

_Help me_

_I've been thinking too much_

_Help me_

 

"Hey Josh."

"Yeah?" he asks, eyes still glued on her.

"Should we ask Juno to join us."

Josh is half listening, Tyler can tell.

"Join what?"

Tyler let's out a sigh. "Our band, Josh. _Our band._ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was probably predictable as hell..

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Thanks for clicking on this fic, you may be disappointed by its non-joshlerness, so I apologise if you were misled but for those who like it, updates will be sporadic and relatively slow, just a warning...
> 
> Enjoy! Well, as much you can with how much it sucks haha


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